Driving instructors want cycle safety to be part of test

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A man puts a new driver sticker on his car after passing his driving testTimes photographer, Ben Gurr

Philip PankTransport Correspondent

Last updated at 12:28PM, September 7 2012

Driving instructors are pressing for cycle awareness to become part of the
practical driving test as a way of slowing a rise in collisions with
cyclists.

Official figures show that the number of cyclists killed or seriously injured
rose by 13 per cent in the first quarter of 2012, at a time when the number
of car occupants killed or seriously injured fell by 4 per cent. The number
of casualties among cyclists has risen in 10 out of the last 13 quarters.

While cycling remains a relatively safe mode of transport, there are fears
that the success of Team GB cyclists this summer will encourage novice
riders onto the roads and raise the risk of a continued rise in casualties.

Campaigners are urging Government and highways agencies to do more to protect
the growing body of cyclists.

As the number of collisions continues to grow, driving instructors are now
pressing for a separate module on cycle awareness in the driving test.
Seventy-five per cent of instructors think this would help road safety,
according to a survey by RED Driving School. A poll of 600 instructors
across the UK found that most were in favour its inclusion in the practical
driving test.

“With more people taking to their bikes as a result of the ‘Bradley Wiggins
effect’ since the Olympics, it’s likely that road accidents could increase.
Now, more than ever, we need to crack down on careless, dangerous driving,
focusing on education and training to improve road safety,” said Ian
McIntosh, the company’s chief executive. The poll showed that 88 per cent of
instructors believe that cyclists should also take some formal training.

Martin Gibbs, British Cycling’s Policy and Legal Affairs Director, said: “We
want to see learner drivers educated to see cyclists as legitimate road
users who have a right to be treated with respect and consideration. We are
also calling for drivers to learn safe overtaking manoeuvres.”

The cities fit for cycling campaign calls for improved training of cyclists
and drivers and recommends that cycle safety should become a core part of
the driving test. Learner drivers already take a hazard perception test,
including bicycles, as part of the driving theory test. The Driving
Standards Agency is cautious about including a specific cycle safety module
in the practical test. A spokesman said that if the focus was put on
cyclists, it would inevitably exclude other vulnerable road users such as
pedestrians or horse riders.

The AA and prominent cycle groups want cycle safety to become part of the
national schools curriculum to instil road-safety training from an early
age. Last year fewer than 200,000 children took a cycle training course
funded by their local authority, according to the national training body.